Jerry Sambuaga, the deputy trade minister who is the head of the Indonesian delegation on the nickel dispute with the EU, stressed that on the nickel issue, he and the delegation are determined to fully implement President Jokowi’s determination and oppose the EU’s demands.
He said the government had provided reliable lawyers as ordered by the president. In addition, he deployed teams of experts to craft strong arguments to support lawyers.
Jerry said the president’s decision was based on several things related to the country’s political and economic interests.
First, the fight against the EU at the WTO is aimed at demonstrating that Indonesia enacts and enforces its own sovereignty. Indonesia has the right to regulate its own resource export policy, which must be respected by other countries and in line with the principle of respecting sovereignty on the basis of state relations.
Nickel ore also has serious shortage problems, environmental problems, national economic problems and social problems. If you don’t pay attention, Indonesia, which has the world’s largest nickel reserves, may one day be dependent on other countries.
In the downstream part, we should continue to intensify efforts to fully increase the added value of nickel. It is hoped that Indonesia will no longer only export raw materials, especially nickel raw materials with low prices and low grades, and must export semi-finished or finished products. It is in line with the vision of President Jokowi and Vice President Marouf Amin for the transformation of Indonesia’s economy.
Earlier, the European Union lodged a complaint with the World Trade Organization (WTO) over Indonesia’s restrictions on exports of nickel and other raw materials. (Overseas Steel)
